Update on Texas Fertilizer Plant Explosion

“Like a war zone.” That’s how Texas County Sheriff Parnell McNamara described the scene to reporters near Waco, Texas, following last night’s explosion at a fertilizer plant that has left as many as 15 dead and 160 injured, according to numerous media reports. Texas Governor Rick Perry has declared McLennan County, Texas, a disaster area and is asking the federal government for help. Dozens of homes and business as well as a nursing home have been destroyed from the massive explosion that rocked the area with what is reported to be the force of a 2.1 earthquake. The blast is reported to have leveled a five to six block radius around the West Fertilizer Co. plant in the small farming town of West, Texas. The plant is said to house two huge highly pressurized tanks of anhydrous ammonia. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has sent a large team of investigators, along with the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, according to media reports.